1. Field of the Invention
We, Biagio Ravo and Enrico Nicolo, have invented improvements relating to a surgical mask and cap combination. More specifically, our invention relates to an easily manufacturable, disposable one-piece surgical mask and cap.
2. Prior Art
Physicians, nurses and other practitioners working in hospitals and other health-care facilities have worn sterilized apparel, most commonly over top of normal apparel. In general, sterilized paper and other materials which are disposable and biodegradable have been utilized for constructing these garments. A wide variety of garments has been designed and proposed for covering the head and face of health-care professionals. Such garments generally include a cap for covering the hair adjacent the head area in combination with a separate mask tied around the back of the user's head.
Although widely used, the separate head piece and mask results in undesirable hygiene practices in an operating room environment. Specifically, practitioners should change both the cap and mask between operations or sessions to prevent cross-contamination. Often, however, practitioners will only change the mask maintaining the same cap through several sessions or operations. This practice increases the risk to the patient and should be avoided.
A variety of devices has also been proposed for forming the mask and cap in one-piece configurations, such as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,589,408 and 5,269,024. U.S. Pat. No. 3,885,558 additionally discloses a complete head covering for use in sterile environments. The problem with these prior art designs is that they are formed of relatively complicated shapes which adversely affect the manufacture and user acceptance of these devices. A separate issue is providing a one-piece structure which guarantees head and mouth coverage and also accommodates longer hair. Another issue is providing a one-piece mask and cap which provides eye protection and/or can easily accommodate corrective lenses for the user.
An object of our invention is to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks of the applied prior art. It is a further object of our invention to provide a one-piece, disposable surgical mask and cap which is easily manufactured, stored and used.